Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – To describe crime there is a saying “No matter how cleverly the carcass is covered, the smell remains.” This means that even if a crime is covered up, it will eventually be uncovered.
This is what happened in the gold robbery case by Hiroshi Nakamura. At first it went smoothly, but everything changed because of the wife who liked to show off.
Hiroshi Nakamura's gold robbery is part of the story of the independence era around 1946 which later became known as the Nakamura Incident. According to historian Ben Anderson in Revoloesi Pemoeda (2018), this incident was a large-scale embezzlement of state pawnshops at the end of the war involving the Japanese soldier, Captain Hiroshi Nakamura.
What's the story?
In 1946 at the pawnshop office Jl. Kramat, Central Jakarta, there are hundreds of kilos of gold, money and other valuables. The presence of these goods in large quantities in one location was caused by the policy of centralizing assets during the Japanese occupation (1942-1945). So, Japan attempted to move all valuable items from local pawnshops throughout Java to the Jl. Kramat.
However, when Japan left Indonesia, these treasures became ownerless. If according to the laws of war, then these assets should belong to the Indonesian government. However, the practice is not simple. There was confusion among the Japanese soldiers in Indonesia.
At this point, wrote Vincent Houben in Histories of Scale (2021), Captain Hiroshi Nakamura was provoked to possess this item. Moreover, he could easily commit theft because he had an important position in Indonesia and according to Vincent Houben, this action was supported by his superior, Colonel Nomura Akira.
In the end, this provocation pushed Nakamura to commit a criminal act: theft. It is known that he took the truck to Jl. Kramat to carry all the treasures spread out in 20-25 suitcases.
According to De Locomotief's records (1/8/1948), the treasures robbed by Nakamura reached 960 kg of gold worth 10 to 80 million guilders. After that, he took the treasure to the house of his mistress, Carla Wolff, and took it to a garden owned by a Chinese businessman.
Nakamura's action went smoothly. No one sniffed it because many people were still busy dealing with independence. Practically, this wealth allows Nakamura and Carla to live peacefully in Indonesia and become rich.
However, everything changed completely due to his wife's actions. After having wealth, Carla's lifestyle immediately changed. He becomes hedonistic, likes to show off, and often squanders his wealth.
“I am richer than the Queen of the Netherlands. I will sleep on a golden bed and the guests will eat from golden plates,” said Carla, quoted from Rampok (2012).
When Carla showed this attitude, Dutch and British intelligence representatives became suspicious. Moreover, Carla at that time had an important position as a member of the Dutch East Indies Guerilla Organization (NIGO).
The intelligence officer was surprised about the origins of Carla's treasure. As a result, they carried out an investigation and it was revealed that it was all stolen. Unfortunately, instead of reporting the intelligence, they went along with owning the property. It is known that the two of them took 20 kg of stolen gold.
In the world of theft, there is an opinion that if a crime is known to many people, the greater the risk of it being discovered. In the end, this assumption was true. As a result of Carla's actions, more and more people learned that there were criminal acts involving Japanese soldiers.
All of this led to the discovery of the case by the Dutch government which occupied Jakarta. Starting from Nakamura, Carla Wolff, Nomura Akira, and the two intelligence officers, were detained by the Dutch and found guilty.
According to the newspaper Hit dagblad (24/6/1946) Nomura was declared involved because he admitted to enjoying the proceeds of the robbery because he was Nakamura's superior. Nomura also admitted to having opened 9 suitcases of gold during one day at a house. Then, the suitcases were taken to the Japanese military office in Jakarta.
As a result of being proven involved in the robbery, the four suspects were officially detained. Nakamura received the most severe punishment. Meanwhile, Worlff was sentenced to 8 months in prison. Interestingly, the whereabouts of hundreds of kilograms of gold were unknown after the case was discovered.
When investigating the case, the authorities said they only received gold equivalent to 1 million guilders. Meanwhile, it is not clear where the rest are.
Some say Nakamura kept the remaining gold in a secret place when he was caught by the police. There are also those who say the gold is stored in the Menteng area, Jakarta. However, one thing is certain, the whereabouts of the remains of the gold are currently unknown.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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